All excerpts
68 events, 513 sessions, 3976 excerpts, 217:40:21 total duration
Most common tags:
Ajahn Chah
(883)
Ajahn Pasanno
(428)
Suffering
(332)
Relinquishment
(291)
Self-identity view
(257)
Mindfulness of breathing
(253)
Abhayagiri
(249)
Teaching Dhamma
(239)
Monastic life
(232)
Discernment
(228)
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1. “Is it possible for a layperson to become an arahant? If so, is it appropriate to leave the lay life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Arahant] [Monastic life]
2. “Does one need permission from one’s spouse to take robes?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ordination] [Relationships] // [Buddha/Biography]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.54.4.
3. “Do you think that a person needs to be on a long silent retreat in order to enter the stream?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Stream entry] // [Hearing the true Dhamma]
4. “It’s interesting how no-self is not the same as having no free will. What do you think?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Volition ] [Philosophy] // [Self-identity view] [Kamma] [Volitional formations]
5. “When my breathing gets very fine, I notice that my head and body will subtly lean forward. Is this common?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Posture/Sitting] // [Becoming] [Body/form]
6. “Whenever I try mindful breathing when trying to fall asleep, I get really alert and can’t fall asleep. What is your advice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Devotion to wakefulness ] // [Tranquility] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Time management]
Quote: “That mindfulness is also a resting.” [Mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno meets a monk who didn’t sleep for a month. [Tudong] [Seclusion] [Rains retreat] [Concentration]
7. “What do you think about caffeine consumption? I have a love/hate relationship with this substance, leaning towards dependency. It is socially acceptable, but I wonder sometimes. It can have quite an effect on the mind.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Medicinal requisites] [Addiction] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
8. “Could we get the words of the monks’ reflection before eating their food?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Almsfood] [Recollection]
Sutta: MN 2.14, Chanting Book translation.
9. “Regarding generosity, it has been said that the merit one makes by giving is conditioned by the virtue of the recipients. For example, more merit to give food to a good monk than to an alcoholic homeless man. How is this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Generosity] [Merit] [Virtue] // [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
10. “I am unable at this point to wrap my understanding around no-self. I feel truth in that form is not self, feeling is not self, perception, mental formations, and consciousness is not self. How can we be sure self is not hiding somewhere we haven’t looked? How do I cultivate an understanding of non-self? Isn’t that part of us that continually takes rebirth self or soul?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Aggregates] [Rebirth] // [Spiritual traditions] [Impermanence] [Suffering] [History/Indian Buddhism] [Discrimination]
Sutta: SN 22.96: A Lump of Cow Dung. [Liberation]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting Book translation).
11. “What is the value of generosity if someone is getting rich unlawfully and then gives part of it to charity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Generosity ] [Crime] // [Kamma] [Culture/Thailand] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
Story: Ajahn Chah advises the owner of a string of nightclubs to change occupations. [Ajahn Chah] [Intoxicants] [Right Livelihood] [Precepts]
12. “Ajahn, would it be okay with you if we take pictures tomorrow at the closing ceremony when you are receiving your gifts? Thank you for sharing your clarity and kindness with us.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] // [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online]
13. “Thank you for helping me get my practice out of the ditch and on to a mindful path. The retreat was the best gift I’ve had in many years. Thanks to all involved in the event.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Gratitude] // [Generosity]
14. “I find the translation of nirodha as ‘don’t make it a problem’ delightful. Is there anything you might add in its relationship to Dependent Origination?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cessation] [Translation] [Dependent origination]
Sutta: SN 56.11.11 (Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 10): “Whatever is of the nature to arise, all that is of the nature to cease.”
15. “It has been helpful to pay attention to the gap between the out-breath and the subsequent in-breath. There feels to be a waiting or assumption that there is a next breath. What is paid attention to after the last breath?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Death] // [Knowing itself ] [Faith] [Calming meditation] [Tranquility] [Jhāna] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “I’m preparing to die.” — The Dalai Lama. [Dalai Lama] [Meditation]
16. “In the cosmology of the ‘hairball of humanity,’ is the cat who spat up the hairball considered a brahma god?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nature of the cosmos] [Humor]
17. “Would you please define the khandha of perception? How does it differ from feeling and consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Aggregates] [Feeling] [Consciousness] // [Sense bases] [Memory]
18. “I’m having a doubt attack. It all seems too deep and unfathomable and too many aeons plus unending kamma with nothing solid to hold on to. I’m overwhelmed.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Nature of the cosmos ] [Kamma] // [Saṃsāra] [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering]
19. “Could you share a story or reflection about your young disciple Todd?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Children] // [Sickness] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Generosity] [Health care] [Death] [Dreams]
Reference: Like a River: The Life of a Boy Named Todd by Ajahn Pasanno.
Stories about Todd’s generosity and purity of heart.
20. “I have found Buddhist philosophy and meditation to be so helpful in this life. However, I am challenged by the concept of reincarnation, especially when the texts describe the hell realms, such as hungry ghosts, whose throats are narrow as needles and cannot pass food and water. Or hot realms of fire or even the god realms of excess desire. This sounds very different from the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The concept of reincarnation was around before the Buddha. Can you explain how one should understand reincarnation? Is it literal or myth or what?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rebirth] [Realms of existence ] [Four Noble Truths] [Eightfold Path] [Culture/India] // [Nature of the cosmos] [Culture/West] [Western psychology] [Right View] [Kamma] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 117.7: Conventional Right View.
21. “As I understand Ajahn Sumedho in The Sound of Silence and Stephen Batchelor, they do not believe in rebirth or reincarnation in a literal sense. What is your belief and understanding in regards to this? Stephen in particular says this is a holdover from the society the Buddha was born into and not really his teaching. He also comments that the Buddha was more interested in creating a new civilization than individual enlightenment. Please comment.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Stephen Batchelor] [Rebirth] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/India] [Buddha/Biography] [Politics and society] // [Sutta] [Teaching Dhamma] [Liberation]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.6: The Buddha’s activities after his Awakening.
22. “Following the rapture/bliss of realization of deep insight of the sort the questioner posed last night, ther inevitably seems to follow a ‘spiritual narcissism’ and other vipassanā defilements. Perhaps these are the same old obstructions, just repackaged, but they seem more insidious. Any special advice or experience to share working through these?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rapture] [Insight meditation] [Conceit] [Defilements of insight] // [Suffering]
23. “What is the difference between the fetter of self-view and the fetter of ‘I am?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fetters] [Self-identity view] [Conceit] // [Aggregates] [Stream entry] [Arahant]
24. “What do the words, ‘Gate gate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha’ mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mantra] // [Mahāyāna]
Reference: The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra.
25. “What is the funniest story from your life as a monk? We humans love stories.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Humor] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life]
26. “Does nirodha also mean cessation, no problem? I have been using nirodha to note cessation of the out-breath. Is that correct?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cessation] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Noting]
27. “Is dispassion the same as equanimity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion] [Equanimity] // [Conditionality] [Factors of Awakening]
28. Comment: Not only has the Saṅgha practiced well, it has also questioned well. Much gratitude to you all for holding the space, and to Ajahn Pasanno and his crew for an enlightening retreat. May we all grow in Dhamma for the benefit of all beings. [Saṅgha] [Questions] [Gratitude]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire] [Teaching Dhamma]
29. “What it the Pāli word translated as dispassion? What is the relationship between dispassion and equanimity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion] [Pāli] [Equanimity]
30. “Can you review the antidotes to the Five Hindrances and to the defilements?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Unwholesome Roots]
31. “I think about sharing the Dhamma with my family. Any suggestions on where to start? Has your family taken to the teachings since you’ve been on the path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Family ] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Habits] [Non-contention] [Renunciation] [Amaravati]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s sister and her six-week-old baby attend his first meditation retreat in Canada. [Meditation retreats]
32. “What would be your advice on how to approach the study and practice of the Abhidhamma?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhidhamma ] // [Ajahn Chah] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions]
1. Story: Ajahn Pasanno attempts tudong in California. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] [Tudong] // [Ageing] [Health]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless junior monk go tudong in the hot season. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Sequence of training] [Culture/Natural environment] [Tudong]
3. Story: Ajahn Jotipālo’s tudong north along the Mississippi. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Tudong] // [Robes] [Sickness] [Culture/West] [Almsfood]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah asks Ajahn Sumedho if he might go back to America as a monk. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Culture/West] [Monastic life] [Tudong] // [Almsfood] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
Quote: “You mean to say there are no kind people in America?” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho. [Compassion]
5. Story: Ajahn Mun doesn’t spend consecutive rains retreats in the same place until his mid-70s. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Rains retreat] [Ageing] [Tudong] // [Stages of awakening] [Seclusion] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Saṅgha authorities appoint Ajahn Mun abbot of a monastery in Chiang Mai. He leaves before dawn the next day. [Abbot] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Saṅgha decision making]
Story: One million people attend the funeral of Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Funerals]
6. Story: Ajahn Kinaree walks to India over the course of 15 years in the 1920s and 30s. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Visiting holy sites] [Tudong]
7. Story: Ajahn Supah chooses tudong over further studies. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Supah] [Culture/Thailand] [Study monks] [Learning] [Tudong] // [Liberation] [Goodwill] [Simplicity] [Virtue] [Recollection/Virtue]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother cries when she meets Ajahn Supah. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Faith] [Rapture]
Story: A python begins to eat Ajahn Supah. [Animal] [Determination]
8. Quote: “In the old days, tudong monks would show up at the monastery and ask about almsfood routes, toilets, and meetings. Now the first thing tudong monks ask is, ‘Is there a cell phone signal?’” — anonymous. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Protocols] [Technology] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong]
9. Quote: “Instead of going tudong, monks go taludong (through the forest).” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong] // [Environment] [Commerce/economics]
1. “Did you walk from Mendocino?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tudong]
2. “What is the function of a layperson who accompanies a monk on tudong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Tudong] // [Sequence of training] [Abhayagiri] [Eight Precepts] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “People who ordain quickly disrobe quickly.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ordination] [Disrobing]
Story: Founding of Pacific Hermitage. [Pacific Hermitage] [Almsround] [Almsfood]
3. Comment: Living on faith increases your potential anxiety level. I came to Buddhism thinking this would settle my life, but I realize that being open, aware, and sensitive to the world keeps bringing me new challenges. [Faith] [Restlessness and worry] [Everyday life] [Conscience and prudence] [Tudong]
Sutta: Dhp 244-245: Life is easy for for one without shame. [Conceit] [Virtue]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “You get more than what you bargained for.” [Happiness] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony] [Trust] [Concentration] [Ardency] [Energy] [Discernment] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 11.1: Virtue leads to non-remorse and samādhi.
4. “Can the practice be used in a punitive or punishing way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Culture/West] [Habits] [Clear comprehension] [Craving not to become]
Quote: “Having a human mind...it’s amazing how perverse it can be sometimes.” [Human] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate guilt into Thai. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
Quote: “All you need to do is create a cage of mindfulness around [unskillful habits].” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness] [Unskillful qualities] [Similes]
Follow-up: “What about letting the tiger go instead of keeping it in a cage?”
Follow-up: “What about the case when one feels one is the tiger trapped in a metaphorical cage. How to escape?” [Liberation] [Perception] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship]
5. “If sati or mindfulness is the cage, what is the use of samatha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
6. “Could you tell of your personal experience with a tiger?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Tudong]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno hears and smells a tiger while doing walking meditation. [Dtao Dum] [Culture/Natural environment] [Posture/Walking] [Fear] [Death] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
Sutta: MN 4: Fear and Dread
7. “Is there a distinction between the awareness and the naming? Does naming bring intellect or self into play? Is confusion the nagging sense of self or self-consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Perception] [Noting] [Self-identity view] [Delusion] // [Investigation of states] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Equanimity] [Doubt] [Mindfulness of body] [Continuity of mindfulness]
8. “In the trio of attraction, aversion, and confusion, what does confusion mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Delusion]
9. “I have an internal voice that’s concerned whether I’m doing it right; if I’m not doing it right, then I won’t get where I want to go. Is this delusion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Perfectionism] [Delusion] // [Suffering] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body] [Volitional formations]
10. “For Lent, I practiced metta every day for six weeks for a person who I was very angry at. By the end of Lent, I was even more angry. Could you speak to this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Aversion] [Christianity] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clinging]
Quote: “If the kilesa (defilements) come at you high, then you duck, and if they come at you low, then you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Tongrat]
11. “I’m curious about your pre-monastic life and specifically what led you to the monastic life.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Temporary ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Pasanno. [Sequence of training]
12. “If I saw you and the monks walking down the streets of Fairfax, I’m not sure I would know what to do. How should I approach you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Almsround] [Tudong] // [Almsbowl] [Almsfood] [Not handling money]
13. “To what extent is spreading the teachings part of the tudong tradition?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Tudong] // [Culture/Thailand]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.23: Venerable Assaji’s demeanor inspires Sariputta. [Great disciples] [Perception of a samaṇa]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno goes tudong and is asked for lottery numbers. [Ajahn Pasanno]
14. “I travelled for six weeks in Thailand and India and found that time really shifted. Having been home about two months, even with a daily meditation practice, time speeds up. How is life at the monastery versus tudong, and what do you have to say to laypeople about the speeding up of time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pace of life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/India] [Culture/West] [Tudong] [Everyday life] [Monastic life] // [Craving] [Devotional practice]
15. “Is it possible to visit the monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Monasteries] [Abhayagiri] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
16. Meditation instructions: Walking meditation. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] // [Abhayagiri]
1. Story: Ajahn Chah’s first tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Renunciation] [Spiritual search] [Simplicity] [Tudong]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah obsesses about getting robes. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Poverty] [Robes] [Greed] [Tudong] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Determination] [Simplicity] [Craving] [Ajahn Kinaree]
3. Quote: “You fall down, you get up, you crawl along. ” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Patience] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Tudong]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah struggles through lust with patience. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sensual desire ] [Patience] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Human] [Meditation/Techniques] [Impermanence]
Quote: Ajahn Chah to biographer: “If you don’t put that in the book, don’t bother printing it.” [Dhamma books]
Quote: “If you ordain as a monk, your defilements ordain with you.” — Ajahn Chah. [Monastic life] [Unwholesome Roots]
5. Quote: “You’re inspired, and you put forth effort. You’re depressed and fed up, and you put forth effort. You’re rested, and you put forth effort. You’re tired, and you put forth effort. ” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort] [Ardency] [Faith] [Tudong] [Depression] [Sloth and torpor] // [Gladdening the mind]
6. Story: How Ajahn Pasanno became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Chah] [Saṅgha decision making]
7. Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s tudong practice. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Seclusion] [Tudong] // [Meditation] [Sickness] [Ajahn Amaro] [Abhayagiri] [Patience]
8. Story: Ajahn Pasanno gets a foot infection on tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Culture/Thailand] [Health care] [Tudong] // [Killing] [Goodwill]
9. Story: Ajahn Pasanno loses his vision on tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Health care] [Tudong] // [Patience] [Seclusion] [Dtao Dum]
10. Quote: “It all comes back to that simple quality of mindfulness. From the mindfulness, then the different qualities of practice that we need to rely on are cultivated.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Faculties] [Tudong] // [Concentration ] [Thai] [Translation] [Discernment] [Perfections]
Reflection: In Thai, samādhi is translated as “the firm establishing of the mind.” [Concentration ]
Quote: “The base and foundation is the mindfulness. Being the knowing is always the foundation, and then the mind is able to become still, become settled, become steady.” [Knowing itself] [Concentration ]
Recollection: “It’s rare that Ajahn Chah would use [the Pāli term] pañña on its own. More often than not, he would use satipañña, which is mindfulness and wisdom together.” [Ajahn Chah] [Pāli]
1. “How can one enjoy meditation when one’s knees are on fire?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Happiness] [Pain ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Posture/Sitting] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Visualization] [Discernment]
Story: The monks at Winchester Cathedral used props during long chanting sessions. [Christianity] [Posture/Standing] [Chanting]
2. “Thank you for this morning’s talk on the recollections and faith. Could you elaborate on your point about faith and anāgamī? Has anyone been fully liberated through faith?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Non-return] [Liberation] // [Discernment] [Energy] [Faculties] [The New Yorker] [Culture/West]
Reflection: Faith is the trigger for letting go and relinquishment. [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 52: Delight in the Dhamma and the third stage of liberation. [Recollection/Dhamma]
3. “Would you kindly comment on the cultivation and use in one’s Dhamma practice of one’s creative gifts, such as music, art, dance, writing, and so on?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Artistic expression ] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Self-identity view] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Mun] [Blame and praise]
Story: Master Hua disapproves of Rev. Heng Sure giving his instruments away. [Master Hsuan Hua] [Rev. Heng Sure] [Teaching Dhamma]
4. “I’ve realized that I’m like a fish in aversive water and was bringing that into practice, constantly rejecting what was happening and generally losing track of my meditation object, the breath. Can you speak a bit more about attitude versus object?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Attitude] // [Commentaries] [Three Refuges] [Habits] [Skillful qualities] [Buddha images] [Mindfulness of body]
1. “I have very little faith in the possibility of being enlightened in this lifetime; perhaps stream entry. Is stream entry a realistic possibility for many of us if leading householder lives?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stream entry] [Lay life] // [Purpose/meaning] [Liberation]
Sutta: SN 55.1: Unshakeable confidence and being established in virtue. [Three Refuges] [Faith] [Five Precepts] [Virtue]
Reference: The Island Chapters 16-19.
2. “Is it permissible to take notes during your talks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Sloth and torpor] [Royalty]
3. “Can you speak about the balance between implementing an antidote to a hindrance and practicing patience? I’m having a lot of aversion, and as I try to use both of these practices I’m finding myself full of doubt and confusion.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Right Effort] [Patience] [Aversion] [Doubt] // [Spaciousness]
4. “Is the concept of anattā or no-self a suitable object of meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Meditation/Techniques]
5. “What’s the difference between proliferation and directed thought?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Mindfulness]
6. “What are the characteristics/attainments of the eight noble beings? Where are they described?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stages of awakening] // [Sutta] [Commentaries]
7. “On retreat, is it skillful to try to memorize some of the chants?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Meditation retreats] [Chanting] [Memory] // [Mindfulness] [Faith] [Posture/Walking] [Continuity of mindfulness]
8. “Sometimes I experience what one of my teachers has called a multiple hindrance attack. For me this manifests as sloth and torpor and restlessness, feeling as if they are arising simultaneously. Sloth and torpor may be primary; I’m not sure. Any wise words?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances ] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] // [Doubt] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Pāli]
9. “Could you please say a little more about the fifth hindrance, doubt? Is it self-doubt or doubt of the Dhamma?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] // [Culture/West] [Mindfulness of body] [Pāli]
10. “I keep getting overwhelmed by a variety of intense and unpleasant bodily sensations. I have been trying to keep my focus on more neutral places in the body, but I still find that keeping the concentration anywhere in the body amplifies the unpleasant feelings, and I can’t settle into a place of ease.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Neutral feeling] // [Aversion] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Goodwill]
Quote: “The energy we invest in it is where the suffering actually lies. In the end, a body is just a body.” [Suffering]
11. “May I ask the whole Abhayagiri gang what is your favorite meditation object?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Sudhīro, Debbie Stamp and Bhante Suddhāso. [Meditation/Techniques] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Unattractiveness] [Recollection/Death] [Goodwill] [Buddho mantra] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Sound of silence] [Impermanence]
12. “Is it true that having images of a certain animal around will make you likely to be that animal in your next life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Animal] [Rebirth]
13. “Do you ever work with the ‘thin line’ between sleep and waking, dreaming and lucidity? It seems like a powerful or useful fulcrum.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness ] [Dreams] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Posture/Lying down] [Determination]
14. “Can any teacher suggest that we should not pursue states of jhāna? ‘If they happen, great; if not don’t worry.’ Is a room full of about 60 devoted meditators, it seems unlikely that any of us are achieving this type of absorption. If we were, then the chiming of the bowl would be disrupting many people’s jhānic states of meditation. Is jhāna really quite rare?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Jhāna] // [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Energy] [Happiness]
15. “Can you please speak about how one practices on the third path or what happens leading up to the third path attainment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Non-return] // [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Relinquishment] [Concentration]
16. “Can you share some ways to deal with pride when the ego influences feelings negatively?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Conceit] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Proliferation]
Sutta: AN 6.104: I-making and mine-making.
17. “Could you please talk about the process of cutting the chain of Dependent Origination? With a more mature practice, can one cut the chain earlier among the different links? How does this take place experientially?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dependent origination] // [Relinquishment] [Feeling] [Craving] [Conditionality]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: A pin pricking a balloon. [Ajahn Chah]
18. “Has anyone ever attained enlightenment while walking meditation? What are the pros and cons of walking meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Posture/Walking] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
19. “How does one develop compassion such that one harbors no ill-will even when bandits dismember you with a double-handed saw (MN 21.20)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Ill-will ] [Abuse/violence] // [Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Four Noble Truths]
Quote: “For the enlightened person, there’s no choice but compassion.” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Liberation]
20. “Please explain upekkha, which is the last of the brahmavihāras, Ten Perfections, and Seven Factors of Enlightenment. It sounds important.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Equanimity]
21. “Can you please speak about the differences between clear seeing and awareness? Does one precede the other?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nature of mind] // [Mindfulness]
22. “I have a friend, a beloved aversive type, who has regular angry outbursts. I chalk it up to frustration, yet find myself floundering in how to respond. Should I try to practice metta and patience, limit my association? Any words would be appreciated.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual friendship] [Aversion] [Goodwill] [Patience] [Seclusion]
23. “What is the correct motivation and expectation for meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Attitude] [Meditation] // [Four Noble Truths]
1. “I’m feeling spacious in my heart. it is pleasant, and then I get sleepy. Can you advise on how to cultivate interest in spaciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spaciousness ] [Sloth and torpor] // [Perception of light] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Continuity of mindfulness]
2. “Do you have any ghost story at Wat Pah Nanachat?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ghost ] [Wat Pah Nanachat] // [Funerals]
Story: The mother of a girl killed in an accident dedicates merit with the wish that her daughter be reborn in the family. The girl’s ghost haunts Wat Pah Nanachat. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Death] [Rebirth] [Family] [Merit] [Clinging]
3. “How do you expand your concentration and awareness beyond the breath when other conditions arise?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] [Mindfulness] // [Everyday life] [Clear comprehension] [Perception of light]
Quote: “The object of attention needs to be appropriate to the quality of mind....As the mind becomes more refined, we need to pay attention to a more refined object.” [Meditation/Techniques]
4. “Can you talk about how different hand positions or mudras are used in meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mudra] // [Spiritual traditions] [Posture/Sitting] [Sloth and torpor]
5. “Eight Precepts illuminates the vanity within.’ Could you offer some encouragements or reflections on the beauty of the Dhamma as a remedy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eight Precepts] [Conceit] [Beauty] [Dhamma] // [Recollection/Dhamma] [Faith] [Learning] [Sutta]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 6: Recollection of the Dhamma.
Story: Ajahn Khao’s realization came from reflecting on rice. [Ajahn Khao] [Liberation] [Symbolism/metaphor] [Gratitude] [Bodhi Tree]
6. “Could you review again what the antidotes to the Five Hindrances are? Also, if one has not correctly identified the hindrance at the moment and uses the incorrect remedy, so what?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Investigation of states] // [Desire] [Unattractiveness] [Dispassion] [Ill-will] [Goodwill] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Doubt] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Self-reliance]
Sutta: SN 46.51: Starving the hindrances.
Simile: Throwing dust into the wind (Dhp 125). [Drawbacks] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 7.61: Antidotes for sloth and torpor.
7. “Late night news, sports, and a sleeping pill. Any suggestions how my mind is going to be affected in the long run?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [News] [Media] [Devotion to wakefulness] // [Heedlessness] [Self-reliance]
8. “What is the difference between abandoning personality view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) and realizing anattā?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Not-self] // [Aggregates] [Stream entry] [Conceit] [Arahant] [Cause of Suffering]
9. “What is hasituppāda citta—consciousness producing mirth—that is the Buddha’s smile?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Humor ] [Buddha/Biography] // [Teaching Dhamma]
Suttas: MN 81; MN 83; AN 5.180: Examples of the Buddha’s smile.
Sutta: MN 12.58: “You might think that the jujube fruit was bigger in those days...” [Ascetic practices]
Sutta: SN 17.5: A dung beetle gloats about his pile. [Gain and loss] [Fame and disrepute] [Similes] [Monastic life]
10. “Thank you for teaching that listening to Dhamma is a spiritual practice, not just information download. When you opened your heart to Ajahn Chah, even though you couldn’t understand his words, would you say that was a sort of Dhamma transmission directly from one heart to another?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Buddha]
11. “As wild and woolly as some of my experiences have been in the practice, I was wondering if there’s a place for wilder-ness along the path? What is crazy wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Spiritual traditions] [Conventions]
Recollection: Some people thought Ajahn Tongrat was crazy. [Ajahn Tongrat]
Reference: Ajahn Utane’s biography of Ajahn Tongrat. Ajahn Mudito translated this into Portuguese in 2019, and there is a machine translation from the Portuguese. [Dhamma books]
Story: Ajahn Tongrat dies on the Dhamma seat. [Death] [Teaching Dhamma]
12. “Does the remembrance of mindfulness have to do with our kamma?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Kamma]
13. “I’ve been experiencing and witnessing an incredible sadness. At times it is dormant; at times it seems all-consuming. I’ve done okay at staying present, questioning its nature, its benefits, its hindrances, its source. I haven’t come up with a specific cause for this grief/sorrow. Do you have any suggestions for furthering my investigation working with sadness, and how I might someday send it on its way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Grief] [Aspects of Understanding] [Cause of Suffering ] [Discernment] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Clinging] [Goodwill] [Divine Abidings] [Middle Path]
Quote: “Viewed from any sane perspective, the human condition is pretty sad.” [Human]
14. “I remember reading that Ajahn Chah used to ask monastics to meditate in a charnel ground to alleviate lust. With no charnel ground at my disposal, how to work with this strong sensual desire in meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire ] [Ajahn Chah] [Recollection/Death] // [Unattractiveness] [Body/form]
15. “What kind of suffering does a non-returner experience? What makes a non-returner become an arahant?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Non-return ] [Suffering] [Arahant] // [Conceit] [Fetters] [Craving for material existence] [Craving for immaterial existence] [Restlessness and worry]
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